BOHEMIAN VALHALLA... My Love Affair with Found Treasures and living the Bohemian Lifestyle...

Sunday, December 28, 2014

A Love-Hate Relationship With Incurable Collecting

If anyone else out there is an Incurable Collector they will certainly understand the Internal War that can rage and create conflict within yourself? That Love-Hate Relationship with Incurable Collecting that you can have with yourself in an ongoing basis!

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I experience it all the time and sometimes I'm at Peace with the way I am... and sometimes I'm not!!! There is of coarse the Natural Urge to Gather, to Collect... that I truly Believe is hardwired into the DNA of some of us Gatherers-Collectors, just like it is in some of the Animal Kingdom like Bowerbirds, Pack Rats and Magpies. I recognize that I AM a Human Magpie, I always have been and probably always will be no matter how much I might vacillate between gleefully doing it and trying not to so much.

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It has Served me well over the years since the variety of what I Gather and Collect has had more than just intrinsic value and it has made for Beautiful Surroundings even when times were lean or more challenging. So my problem lies not so much in the doing of it... but in the over-doing of it. Since I also know myself to be an addictive and excessive personality that overdoes just about anything if I don't monitor myself closely.

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And I have periods of Restraint and periods of going off the rails in my Incurable Collecting. You see, I Love my Found Objects or I wouldn't drag them Home and the Thrill of Hunting them is quite the Rush. But since Editing doesn't happen to be one of my strong points or Virtues, and I'm Okay with a certain amount of layering of Beautiful Objects, things can slowly get out of hand and then comes the Hate Period where I'm Intent on Purging what I've Hoarded up! *LOL*

Because though too much is never enough in my particular Style and Aesthetic, I abhor Clutter... and when things begin to look Cluttered TO ME, then I Feel all out of Balance about my Incurable Collecting habit. Now, it can look Cluttered to everyone else way before it looks Cluttered to me, because I don't like a barren or minimalistic environment to Nest in, but when its too much for me, then I begin agonizing about the Purge that will be necessary.

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You would think that by now, after a Lifetime of doing this incessantly, that I'd be used to it, adept at it and not the least bit Emotional about it... but you'd be wrong... I can be. Not that I always am, because once I'm in Motion with a Great Edit and Purge I can be Relentless and not the least bit Emotionally Attached to a lot of my Stuff. But when I get to having too much that I don't wanna get rid of, it can be difficult.

You see, those of us who are quite adept at accumulating Great Stuff on the Thrilling Hunts we seem completely Driven to go on and have Urges that would be difficult or even impossible to completely stifle, can end up with a lot of really Treasured Hoards as the Fruits of our Labor!

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My Junquing Buddies LOVE taking me with them just because I can sniff out a Bargain and seem to have Inherent Radar for finding The Good Stuff no matter how well it may be hidden. I'm like a Bloodhound when it comes to turning up Found Treasures and sorting thru Trash to find True Treasures. Just tell me in advance what you're lookin' for, what you're Jonesin' for and I'm off like a Bird Dog to 'Score' it... and I WILL 'Score' it eventually, you can rest assured of that fact!

There are times I've Wondered if I should just become a Professional Picker for OTHER PEOPLE just so that I could still Hunt to my Heart's Content and Experience the Thrill... but not have it dragged Home to my Lair or fund it with my Stash of discretionary Cash until I decide to flip it and part with it? *Smiles* Even Miss Priss will give me 'That Look' sometimes like, "Really, just how long are we keeping all THIS now?" *Winks* Because yes, most of this will eventually Go and NOT take up permanent residence here.

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And here's the other problem with the Love-Hate Relationship you're gonna have if you've been doing this long enough... you WILL eventually reach Saturation Point even on the Found Treasures you absolutely J'Adore and don't really wanna have to Let Go of! It's just logical that at some point in time you will have 'Scored' so much Awesomeness that you simply cannot keep it all even if you want to, because Lord Have Mercy, where WILL you put it?! *Le Sigh*

And so therein rages that Internal Conflict... because at times I Wish I could just Stop... and times I've actually tried to just Stop or have Stopped for a time and gone Cold Turkey. But then... I Miss it... A LOT... and realize that I don't REALLY want to Stop because I Enjoy it so much and am so damn Good at it, you know? *LOL*

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It is so much a part of what and who I am at my very Core of Existance that it seems completely Un-Natural and uncomfortable NOT to do it... it's almost like trying to stop myself from Breathing or Eating. And so then I just say to myself, well, Okay, then... just Moderate yourself and find a Balance in the Doing of it so that it doesn't seem so Addictive a pattern. Which is easier said than done if you are an Incurable at ANYTHING!?! *Le Sigh*

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I've heard some say that it's akin to a Disease... and they could be right... I don't really know... those of us so Afflicted can't really Explain in mere Words why or how it is that we do what we do and find such Joy in the Doing of it. We just never get bored with it... tired of it... in the Doing of it anyway... what I do get weary with is how much Great Stuff I can end up with and then need to Rotate in and/or out with consistency and regularity.

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I suppose I should at least be Grateful that I CAN and WANT TO Rotate it OUT from time to time once Critical Mass has been determined. *Smiles* I know that my Customers, my Family and my Friends are exceedingly Happy that I can and want to at various times throughout the year 'Clean House' so to speak and offer it up to be passed along.

In many ways those of us who seem Purposed to do this are somewhat Saviors of Stuff because if we didn't Rescue, Salvage and Save much of it, well, it probably wouldn't still Exist anymore. Or at least not in the volume that it does, since there does seem to be quite a few of us Destined to be this way! We are in many ways Curators of the Past and we take that part of our Destiny Seriously since our Love of Old and of Beautiful Objects that others may discard is almost a Sacred Duty.

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I didn't used to think or Believe that... I used to Feel like I was some Freak of Nature in the compulsion to do what I do since so few that I knew were like me for so long. But with the proliferation of Reality Shows Exposing many like-minded Souls... and with the Internet and Blogs that have Revealed to me just how many like me are out there in the World, now I no longer Feel like the Lone Ranger or such an Oddity and Weird like this. *Winks*

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And as I got more Mature in years it seemed that I began to Attract more and more Kindred Spirits of all ages to be in my Inner Circle of Incurable Collectors, Artists and Hunter-Gatherer Types, and at last, at long last, I felt like I BELONGED and wasn't such an outcast of Society! *Whew* When you no longer Feel like such an anomaly or quite so Quirky it can be somewhat of a Relief! Though I've always Proudly marched to the beat of my own Drummer without Inhibition, you don't wanna Think you're the only one in the Band, you know?! *Smiles*

Because hey, if nobody else likes to do what you do... likes to go where you go... likes to talk about what Intrigues you and you're Passionate about... if nobody Shares your Enthusiasm about what Lights your Fire... if they simply don't 'Get It' or find it to be a complete Mystery as to what makes you Tick... that isn't nearly as Fun and Enriching as being around those WHO DO now is it??!!!

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And if nobody Understands why you can have a Love-Hate Relationship with something that you ARE that Passionate about Doing and can't seem to cease and desist from, the suggestions can be trite no matter how well intended. And they may not have any point of reference about something that one both Loves AND can also Hate at times, because it wouldn't make much sense to them if they've not Experienced that kind of inner Conflict and Turmoil about something hardwired into them that can't seem to Change and often, doesn't want to anyway.

So, yeah, I am getting 'Those Looks' lately from the Cat... and I know she's right... it's TIME once again to Purge the Hoard of Lovelies and pare it all down considerably for the start of the New Year so that my surroundings will bring me Peace and Tranquility once again rather than aggitation that Critical Mass in some areas has transpired.

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And sure, it can seem like a futile endeavor if in the near Future I can end up right back to where we started... which we will... that's a 'Given' when you're an Incurable Collector and the Thrill of the Hunt lures you like a Siren's Song, so it's not as if you're gonna just Stop because you ran out of room again and end up right back to where you began! *LOL*

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So... if you have the Trusted Sidekicks that can Assist you with The Process and Ease the Anguish it can sometimes cause until you're sufficiently on a Roll and gain momentum and a rhythm to get busy with it without so much Emotional connection or thoughts to what is in the piles that must Go, it Helps.

Because I also do ALWAYS Feel Good about the End Result once I've sufficiently Edited and Purged, plowed thru what seemed Cluttered and am left with what is left and I'm Content with and Connected with in a Healthy Balanced way. I just Wish sometimes that I could KEEP it that way and so for 2015 one of my New Year's Resolutions is to just do it more often along with my Hunts and not wait for a Critical Mass Saturation Point to occur. We'll see how successful I am about that or if I fail miserably? And you all can Help by keeping me Accountable Okay? Because Clearly my Sickness is Apparent!!! *Smiles*

11 comments:

Good for you! Saturate your booths! Layer them for your shoppers to discover neat hidden things for their homes too. See how much money you can bring in 2015 just from your booths! That ought to help your overflow at home at your need to keep up the hunt! Good Luck!

You're absolutely right Marlynne... I Hope that a particularly healthy Purge to saturate the Showrooms will impact the bottom line and create more opportunities for Travels we want to take next year?!? Happy New Year... Dawn... The Bohemian

I told my son when he was here on Christmas Day that I wasn't hoarding anymore - bags stacked at the front door of more things leaving the house on a weekly basis. I was quite proud of myself until he said, 'How long do you think THAT will last? About a month?' I guess it really is hardwired into some of us, because I'm already planning my summer cruising route to the small towns with the best thrift stores. LOL

LMAO becoz I can SO relate to those statements from Family and Friends... I'd decided I'd try to go an entire week without WANTING to Hunt for anything... I lasted about two days before withdrawal set in! *Smiles* It doesn't even matter where I Hunt, even in Nature and Free I will always seem to find something Awesome so it's not even as if I have to spend money! But since Space is finite I have to keep turning the Hoard of Lovelies and Treasures constantly and I know that I shall probably always be this way so acceptance of Self and embracing that aspect of my Nature is just as important as clearing out every so often. Happy New Year and may your cruising route turn up some Awesomeness that you can Share here in the Land of Blog... Kindred Spirits we certainly ARE... Dawn... The Bohemian

Thank you for coming by my blog ;o) Great to meet you ;o) I have to say, I know exactly where you are coming from ;o) I love your collection and could go shopping in your house! LOL! Love your carnival bowl with cups ;o) Too bad I didn't live closer! LOL! I wish you all the best ;o) Take it one day at a time ;o) Many blessings and much love for a great 2015 ;o) Big Hugs ;o)

Goodness--,what gorgeous fabrics and textures..... Such amazing vintage treasures. I can see why it would be so difficult to part with them. We all overdo-- don't we? If you decide to share your treasures-- I've no doubt they will soon find happy homes.

Thank You Vicki, yes, I find it is easy to overdo what you Love to do. Happy Homes are being found for those Treasures Showroom bound and it makes me feel good to know that someone else will appreciate and enjoy them as much as I do. Happy New Year to you and yours as well... Dawn... The Bohemian

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About Me

Welcome... I'm Dawn...I'm an Artist and retired from the Corporate world so I now have time to pursue my Art and my passions. I'm also a Full Time Caregiver to my wonderful Husband and two Special Needs G-Kids, we have three grown children, Twenty-three Grandchildren (to date), two of which we're raising and I have Adopted, Five Great-Grandchildren and a Cat. We're coming to you from the Arizona Desert. I have a love affair with all things old, salvage architecture and found treasures. I'm a Bohemian Spirit and surrounding myself with my time worn treasures is my Bohemian Valhalla.